The Thanksgiving meal usually comes with a number of challenges: how to manage cooking so everything hits the buffet table on time, how to keep the white meat juicy, how to fit everything in the oven and how to avoid overeating in the face of a spread of delicious and usually high-calorie dishes.

Our Thanksgiving sources have recipes and ideas that can help with many of those most common Turkey Day challenges.

1. Turkey on the barbie: The side dishes can have the oven all to themselves if you grill your turkey. Last we checked, a simple recipe for “The Greatest Grilled Turkey” at allrecipes.com had been saved by more than 1,500 users, with some reviewers altering the seasonings. While that recipe puts a whole bird on the grill, Kingsford Charcoal suggests a butterflied turkey (split in the back and spread flat) that grills up, bathed in herb butter, in less than three hours. The recipe follows below.

Gourmet Whip Plus

2. Multitasking tool: The Gourmet Whip Plus can not only whip up about 2 quarts of fresh flavored cream for topping holiday pies and other desserts, it also can inject the turkey or ham with homemade brines and other seasoned liquids. Just replace the whipper’s dispenser nozzle with an injection needle, and pump the savory stuff into your holiday meat to help keep it moist and flavorful during cooking. The stainless-steel charger, which uses a tiny replaceable canister of carbon dioxide, can also be used for filling pastries. See a demo video at williams-sonoma.com where the Gourmet Whip sells for $140. Four injector needles are $25. Get 24 charger refills for $16.99 at amazon.com.

3. Cook it light: The November issue of Taste of Home’s “Healthy Cooking” magazine is filled with recipes that promise Thanksgiving indulgence without guilt. Included are desserts such as lightened-up bread pudding, Hummingbird Cake and coconut brownies, as well as such diabetic-friendly recipes as whole-grain “Bountiful Loaves.” We salivated over the pictures and recipes for moist turkey sausage stuffing, cheddar mashed potatoes, sweet potato biscuits and broccoli-cauliflower cheese bake, and they shared a recipe.

4. Call in the crock: To save time and oven space, we also plucked a few recipes from two recently published slow-cooker cookbooks. Phyllis Pellman Good’s “Fix-It and Forget-It Christmas Cookbook” is a ring-bound volume filled with recipes that call to mind church suppers and potlucks. Submitted by home cooks, the collection includes several recipes for holiday-friendly sides and for those who don’t want to cook a whole turkey.

Donna-Marie Pye’s “Slow Cooker Winners” produced a tasty option in a sourdough bread stuffing made with wild rice and dried cherries.

5. High five: We also found several streamlined holiday dishes in “5-Ingredient Fix,” the new cookbook named after the show hosted by Food Network chef Claire Robinson. Skip the classic green bean casserole and opt for an all fresh, but still indulgent, dish of nutty green beans with blue cheese and bacon. We also liked Robinson’s sautéed wild mushrooms and the ginger-pumpkin tart.

6. Speedy delivery: Even if you’re a staunch traditionalist who needs to cook every part of the Thanksgiving meal, you owe it to yourself to consider the many time- and stress-saving options offered by area supermarkets. If the holiday just wouldn’t be the same without your cooking, ShopRite, Stop&Shop and A&P all will deliver the required foods to your door. Offers to cook all or some of the holiday meal come from Kings, Wegmans, Whole Foods and Fresh Direct, the New York food delivery outfit that recently began serving much of New Jersey with groceries and a variety of chef-created heat-and-eat meals. Check the website of each retailer for information on holiday meals, pricing, order deadlines and delivery fees.

7. Leftover easy: It will be easier to give thanks if you clean out the fridge now to make room for all that will need to be stored there.
To save you the trouble of spooning leftovers into containers, CoverMate elasticized covers stretch over the cookware, which can then be tucked into the fridge. The reusable covers come in four sizes and are microwave and dishwasher safe. $9.99 for two-box packages with 10 to 12 covers each at amazon.com.

8. Holiday programming: As usual, there will be lots of holiday help on TV (need we mention the Food Network?), the web and your iPhone or iPad.

In addition to the wealth of holiday information on their websites, CHOW, Epicurious and Whole Foods are among those offering free Thanksgiving apps for iPhone and iPads.
Allrecipes.com is hosting its annual Thanksgiving
webcast from 11 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Saturday. Home cooks can ask questions via Facebook and Twitter as the Seattle test-kitchen staff provides holiday cooking and entertaining tips at allrecipes.tv/live.

And, of course, marthastewart.com, is a portal to all things Thanksgiving, including a link to Fresh Direct, which will be delivering her branded turkeys. Martha Stewart Living Radio’s Thanksgiving hotline will run from Nov. 22-24 with a roster of more than 30 chefs on hand to offer tips and answer callers’ Thanksgiving questions. Non-subscribers to Sirius can listen free Monday.

Godiva flourless Belgian chocolate cake

9. Take the cake: If your family will spend Thanksgiving at someone else’s home, be thankful you won’t have to cook. The challenge here, though, is to take an appropriate token of thanks for the meal.
Godiva, the maker of high-end candies, also offers chocolate cakes and other baked goods at godiva.com. A flourless Belgian chocolate cake ($45) is the latest addition. Place Thanksgiving orders by Nov. 23.

10. Call for help: Finally, here are a few of the tried and true help lines still available to answer Thanksgiving questions.

1. Place the whole turkey breast side down on a cutting board. Remove the neck and giblets and set aside to make turkey stock. With a sharp knife or a pair of kitchen shears, cut the turkey down each side of the backbone, removing it completely. Open the turkey and press it flat on the cutting board. Using a sharp knife, loosen the breast bone from between the turkey breasts and remove it with your fingers. It is a dark colored bone that is often called a keel bone because of its shape. This will enable the turkey to open completely flat. Apply a light coat of olive oil to the turkey skin and liberally season the skin with kosher salt and black pepper.

2. Build a charcoal fire for direct grilling. The heat over the coals should be hot, approximately 450 to 500 degrees.

4. Place the butterflied turkey directly over the coals, skin side down, and baste with the fresh herb butter. Grill the turkey for 5-7 minutes or until the skin starts to turn golden brown and begins to crisp. Transfer the turkey to a 10”x10” baking dish skin side up, place it back on the grill, and baste with herb butter. Cover the grill and close the air dampers reducing the cooking temperature to 350 degrees. Cook for 2 1/2 hours, basting every hour with the remaining herb butter. Meanwhile, prepare the stock while turkey is cooking.

For turkey: The internal temperature of a turkey thigh should reach 175-180 degrees while the breast meat should reach 160-165 degrees. Remove the cooked turkey from the grill, cover it with foil, and let it rest for 15 minutes prior to carving. Make the gravy.

6. To make the gravy, scrape all of the drippings and liquid from the bottom of the roasting pan into a small bowl. Skim the grease from the top of the liquid. Pour the seasoned liquid, about 3/4 cup, into a small sauce pan. In a small bowl, whisk 2 tablespoons water with the cornstarch until smooth. Add the cornstarch slurry and 2 cups of the pre-made turkey stock to the sauce pan and heat. Serve drizzled over the turkey or on the side as table gravy.

1. Working in batches, pour 1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add about a third of the mushrooms and a sprig of thyme, depending on the skillet size, and cook, stirring, until golden brown and softened, about 10 minutes. Season the mushrooms with salt and pepper and transfer to a bowl. Cover to keep warm while you continue cooking the mushrooms with the thyme.

2. Once all the mushrooms are cooked, return them to the skillet and add the shallots. Stir and continue cooking until the shallots are softened, about 5 minutes. Pour about ¼ cup water and the Worcestershire sauce into the skillet and scrape up any brown bits. Continue cooking until the liquid is absorbed; taste and adjust seasoning. Serve warm or at room temperature.

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the haricots verts and cook for about 2 minutes. With a slotted spoon or strainer, transfer the beans to a large bowl of ice water to stop the cooking. Once they’re cooled, drain the beans and reserve.

2. In a large skillet over medium heat, cook the bacon until crisp; transfer to a paper towel–lined plate to drain. Add the beans to the bacon drippings and cook over medium heat 2 to 3 minutes. Add the blue cheese and toss just until it starts to melt. Break the cooked bacon into bite-size pieces and add to the skillet.

3. Finish by stirring in the toasted chopped pecans; season with the freshly cracked black pepper and just a tiny pinch of kosher salt. Serve immediately.

— From “5 Ingredient Fix” by Claire Robinson

THANKSGIVING LIGHT

Taste of Home/Healthy CookingBroccoli cauliflower cheese bake

Broccoli cauliflower bake12 servings

7 cups fresh cauliflower

6 cups fresh broccoli florets

3 tablespoons butter

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

1-1/2 teaspoons spicy brown mustard

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/4 teaspoon pepper

3-3/4 cups fat-free milk

1-1/2 cups (6 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese, divided

1-1/2 cups (6 ounces) shredded Swiss cheese, divided

1. Place cauliflower and broccoli florets in a Dutch oven; add 1 inch of water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 3-5 minutes or until crisp-tender. Drain; transfer to a 13-by-9-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray.

2. In small saucepan, melt butter. Stir in the flour, mustard, salt, nutmeg, cayenne and pepper until smooth; gradually add milk. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 1-2 minutes or until thickened.

3. Stir in 1-1/4 cups each mozzarella and Swiss cheeses until melted. Pour over vegetables. Bake, uncovered, at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until bubbly. Sprinkle with remaining cheeses. Bake 5 minutes longer or until golden brown.

1. In slow cooker stoneware, combine wild rice and 3 cups of the broth. Cover and cook on high for about 3 hours or until wild rice is tender.

2. Meanwhile, in a glass measuring cup, combine the remaining broth and orange juice. Set aside.

3. In a large nonstick skillet, melt butter over medium-high heat. Sauté onion and carrot for about 5 minutes or until softened. Add orange zest, parsley, marjoram, thyme, salt and pepper; sauté for about 1 minute or until fragrant. Stir into rice, along with bread cubes, cherries, chopped green onions and pecans. Slowly add the reserved orange juice mixture, tossing gently to combine.

Tip: If you’re using fresh sourdough bread, cut it into 1-inch pieces and spread in a single layer over a rimmed baking sheet. Bake in a 300 degree oven for 10 to 15 minutes and then turn the oven off and leave the bread overnight to finish drying out. The next day, the cubes will be thoroughly dried, perfect for the stuffing.